Erza Grimhart sat upon her throne, the deal all but sealed, save for one condition.
"Oh, it's simple," she said, amusent threading through her voice. "He stays." She pointed.
He who?
Luke looked over his shoulder. No one stood behind him. Only one person occupied the direction of Erza's finger.
Him.
Before Luke could speak, Allison stepped forward. "I don't follow, Erza. What do you an Luke stays?"
"Simple," Erza replied. "I've seen your plan, and I agree with what's laid out, but I'll make improvents. I won't risk my life on soone else's sche without safeguards. So…"
She leaned back, eyes glinting. "You can handle the tedious parts, logistics, stockpiles, tallying wood and ore, training the idiots in profession use, distributing free points, stamina drills, all that. You'll return to your fortress once it's done."
Her tone softened into sothing almost teasing. "He, however, will remain here with ."
Stay here? With her?
Before Luke could process, Allison's voice cut through the tension. "Why do you want Luke to stay, Erza?"
"Because I have matters to settle with him," Erza said simply.
'It's Luke. Now you're getting violated and tortured. Nobody made you act like a player with one of her servants in the past,' Artemis sneered inside his head.
Only one subject made sense as the reason Erza would demand his presence, and Luke did not want to refuse the priestess who he now needed. He couldn't openly deny Lakarion's request when her help was crucial.
"This is my condition," Erza said. "Until the big day arrives, Luke will live here in this fortress."
"That makes no sense," Allison protested. "We're a unit. We have strategy and plans. He's our guide in the capital. A lot depends on him."
"I don't care," Erza answered. "Didn't you say the Beast Lord is no longer a problem? That you can reach the third fortress easily by river? What more does he need to contribute? He's done more than most of the trash outside. I want to give him a vacation."
'Honestly, Luke. I'm on Team Erza now. I want a vacation. If you get molested in the process, that's not my problem, just enjoy the break,' Artemis purred.
"I have a few words about that," Luke began.
"Any word other than yes cancels the agreent," Erza warned.
"The agreent hasn't even been sealed, Erza, and an agreent only holds when both sides consent," Allison countered.
Erza considered for a heartbeat, then offered a concession. "Fine. He may visit your fortress occasionally, but I will know how long he is gone and when he will return. When he goes, a group of my attendants will accompany him."
'I told you, Luke. Fate's making you pay for your past. Now you'll be watched by terrifying maids. Paradise turned into hell,' Artemis crowed.
"Why insist on this, Lady Erza?" Mason asked.
"It's simple," Erza said. "Half the idiots outside have tried to kill him so many tis you've lost count. There's an ex-ally of Bartholow hunting him, the one called Jonathan. Luke killed Kruger, cut down bandits, slew Bastion soldiers… the list goes on. Your whole plan to escape the tutorial depends on him. He's our best weapon, our trump card."
She folded her arms, eyes hard. "And you want to parade him around like a walking target? I won't allow it. Besides, as I said, I have private matters to settle with him. He will be under my protection. Do you object? If you do, I won't force anyone. I'll simply withhold help and maybe I'll kidnap him. After all, I still have things to resolve."
'Kidnap? Luke, that's torture. You're going to be tortured and molested', Artemis hissed in his head.
Shut up for one second, he thought. I need to think.
Things were escalating so quickly that for a mont Luke felt lost. He couldn't tell whether he was being helped or set up. At the sa ti he knew he wouldn't be able to complete the tutorial's final mission without Erza, at least not without a lot of people dying along the way.
With her and the maids assisting, their chances increased dramatically. Still, he wasn't exactly thrilled about being kidnapped.
"So, will you accept the terms or not?" Erza asked the group.
Luke scanned their faces.
'Now we'll see who your real friends are', Artemis mocked.
"Everyone agree?" Allison asked.
"Yes, we agree," the group answered in unison.
'Yeah, you're alone now.' Artemis crowed. 'You've been sold out, like Ned Stark betrayed by the Lannisters. Shouldn't have been their adviser. Now the queen's going to play with you like a toy, and she seems to like so really weird things.'
Luke tightened his hand on the necklace, squeezing to silence Artemis.
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"Wait, am I not an individual in this? Doesn't my opinion matter?" he said.
"Agreent sealed," Erza declared. Allison stepped forward and clasped her hand, finalizing the pact.
A handful of attendants at the far table rose and began clearing the trays.
"You may go," Erza told them. "I'll handle things in this Safe Zone. Take your people to yours, finish the basic works we planned. In a few days we'll reconvene and set the next objectives once preparations are complete. With no imdiate threat of enemy raids, it will be easier to manage the second Safe Zone."
Allison glanced at Mason and nodded; he started gathering papers and sweeping the maps into stacks.
"Very well. We'll et again in a few days," Allison said. "How will you deal with the Bastion soldiers?"
"They won't enter this fortress," Erza replied coolly. "There's no need to enforce trade anymore. They can choose an inn to live in, or rot in the streets. Not my concern."
Allison looked to the group. "We should go. There's a lot to resolve."
Evangeline and Eleanor, still bewildered, nodded and they filed out. When Luke moved to follow, two attendants stepped in front of him and blocked his path.
"This is serious? My house arrest starts imdiately?" he asked.
"Until next ti, Luke," Allison said. "Don't worry. I'll co here often for etings and to check on you."
"Am I really staying?" he asked, and the attendants nodded.
"Luke, thanks to you we'll all get out of the tutorial together," Mason said. "Isn't that what you wanted? You don't have to do anything now, just rest. It's a good deal."
At the far end of the hall, the double doors opened and the attendants moved in. The two who had been blocking Luke stepped aside and began shepherding the group toward the exit.
"Jerry will co with ssages," Evangeline said, half joking.
"I don't want that damned raven. I want to be leaving too," Luke muttered.
They reached the throne room's doorway. "See you soon," Eleanor called over her shoulder.
'Great', Artemis sneered inside his head. 'You're Ned Stark or Jon Snow betrayed by the Night's Watch. Either way, you're royally screwed.'
Threads coiled around Luke, as if warning him not to try anything clever. A hand rested against his back, and a chill ran down his spine. Erza Grimhart had stopped directly behind him, a predatory smile on her face.
"Looks like you and I will be spending a lot of ti together from now on," she said.
'I knew it,' Artemis crowed. 'Here cos the molestation route.'
***
Eleanor walked quietly through the corridors of Bastion Fortress, keeping pace with Allison and the others once they were far enough from the throne room.
"I still can't believe we did that to him," she said. "I an, from the standpoint of the deal, it makes sense. He'll be safe there, and he can leave as long as he's accompanied by the attendants. But still…"
"He's a major asset," Mason replied.
Allison exhaled, her voice low. "The truth is, Erza's right. Luke is the most important person in this entire plan. What she really ant was that I'm incompetent. I didn't even realize how deep his understanding of mana was. And let's be honest, eighty percent of everything we've accomplished ca from him. The Beast Lord's death, the third chanism, reclaiming the second fortress, and everything else in between. He spent months handling things alone, with a target the size of a city on his back."
She slowed, her gaze drifting to the stone walls. "In any serious group, soone that valuable would never be left that exposed, or waste ti helping us with trivial events like chest hunts."
They walked on.
"When you look at it like that, it does make sense," Evangeline admitted.
Mason shook his head. "No. You two don't understand. For a noble like , that was a grave insult. For a highborn like Allison, it's beyond insult, it's sothing only another noble of her rank could say without suffering the consequences."
Eleanor knew a bit about that world, thanks to her father. Earth was now split between two societies. The old continents remained trapped in what they called the golden age of the twenty first century. But when the world expanded, new continents erged, so vast that the modern lands might not even account for five percent of what now existed.
Beyond that familiar sea lay the New World, a society of kingdoms ruled by the Great Houses of the World Governnt. A world that thrived without technology, governed by lineage and legacy. And Allison Rhiannon, like Erza Grimhart, was born into one of those royal families. A true princess.
"In the New World, democracy doesn't exist," Mason continued. "Power and nobility define rule. The Great Houses of the World Governnt see themselves differently, they see themselves as the kings on a chessboard. Their purpose is to organize their side of the board using the best pieces available. That's how they're raised to think."
He leaned forward, eyes fixed on the others. "The role of people like Allison and Erza, or any heir of a Great House, is to identify the value of every person around them, every ally, and position them where they belong. To place a bishop where a bishop should be, a rook where a rook should be. Their duty is to manage their clan that way, to recognize talent and flaws, and orchestrate them like pieces in play."
He gave a small, humorless smile. "I'm a noble too, but in that chess ga, my family would be the knight, important but not in command."
They kept walking down the echoing hall. Allison Rhiannon said nothing.
"Allison and Erza hold higher ranks," Mason said. "They're pillars of their families, destined to beco rulers soday, building their own boards filled with powerful allies. Now you understand just how deep that insult cut, when Erza said she didn't trust Allison to handle Luke's safety."
"Yeah… that was a serious insult," Eleanor murmured.
From a noble's perspective, she realized what Erza had done was the equivalent of slapping Allison across the face and calling her a fool who couldn't manage her own allies.
"So the families at the top, the ones in the king positions, don't just sit on their thrones scratching their asses while everyone else works?" Evangeline asked as they walked.
"No," Allison replied calmly. "We prioritize power. Power to protect everyone under us. We don't just sit on thrones; we go to the front lines too. The difference is that each of us fights a battle scaled to our position. A ruler's war is fought with wisdom, knowing where to place each person on the board. Being a leader ans mastering both strength and intellect."
She sighed and kept moving.
"In any case, this forced vacation might actually do Luke so good," she added. "He led us all the way to the capital. That place was a nightmare, every sound could get you killed, and at night, statues ca alive and hunted in packs."
They all rembered the horrors of that city. None of them could imagine surviving there at low level, alone, with a giant serpent stalking them through the streets.
"When you put it that way, I don't feel guilty anymore," Eleanor said. "He deserves a ntal break."
"Do you rember the stories he told us?" Mason asked.
"I rember him laughing so hard he couldn't breathe while telling how he blindfolded every statue on a street during the day, then rearranged them side by side so they'd bump into each other at night when they started moving," Evangeline said.
"Exactly," Allison replied. "That's why he needs a break. No sane person would do sothing like that. It was probably the only way he kept himself from losing his mind."
Evangeline chuckled. "Honestly, I can totally see him doing it just for the fun of it."
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